American Heart Month is every February, set in federal law and backed by CDC and NIH materials that any practice can use for free. Those materials are written for the public. A practice needs something narrower: a plan that fills its own schedule, with sources for every heart-health statement and a clear line on free screening events. Below are separate idea sets for primary care and cardiology, checked against the sponsors on October 22, 2026.
When American Heart Month is, and who leads it
Congress set the observance in 36 U.S.C. 101 (opens in a new tab), which asks the President to issue a proclamation each year "designating February as American Heart Month" and urging people "to recognize the nationwide problem of heart and blood vessel diseases."
Three federal and nonprofit efforts run during the month:
| Effort | Who | When | What practices can use |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Heart Month toolkit | CDC (opens in a new tab) | February | Printable blood pressure log and question list (English and Spanish), care-team resources |
| The Heart Truth | NHLBI (opens in a new tab) | February | Sample social posts, graphics, motion graphics |
| National Wear Red Day | NHLBI's The Heart Truth | First Friday in February (February 5, 2027 by that rule) | A visible staff moment for social media |
| Go Red for Women | American Heart Association | Confirm dates on heart.org | AHA campaign materials |
The CDC page puts it simply: "February is American Heart Month, a time when all people are encouraged to focus on their cardiovascular health." NHLBI launched The Heart Truth in 2002 as "the first federally-sponsored national health education program" focused on heart disease in women, and introduced the Red Dress symbol.
ODPHP's National Health Observances page (opens in a new tab) doesn't currently feature the month, so the statute, the CDC and NHLBI are the sources to check. Dates change — verify each year, especially Wear Red Day and the AHA's dates.
Demand (Google Ads Keyword Planner data via DataForSEO, US, 12-month average to Sep 2026):
| Search | US searches/mo | Avg. CPC |
|---|---|---|
| cardiologist near me | 90,500 | $5.41 |
| primary care doctor near me | 40,500 | $6.72 |
| american heart month | 4,400 | — |
Campaign ideas for primary care practices
Primary care owns the first step in heart health: finding high blood pressure. MedlinePlus explains why that matters for a campaign: "High blood pressure usually has no symptoms," (opens in a new tab) so "the only way to find out if you have it is to get regular blood pressure checks from your health care provider."
The CDC's toolkit adds the scale: "Nearly half of U.S. adults have high blood pressure," and "just 1 in 4 people with high blood pressure has it under control" (CDC hypertension estimates from NHANES 2017 to March 2020). Those two sourced lines are enough to anchor a month of content.
Ideas that fill a schedule:
- Blood pressure follow-up week. Invite patients whose readings were high at their last visit to come back, using your own patient communication tools. Under the HIPAA Privacy Rule's definition of marketing (opens in a new tab), a provider's communication for the treatment of an individual is not marketing, as long as no third party pays you to send it.
- Home monitoring handout. Print the CDC's blood pressure log and question list and hand them out at every February visit.
- Physical booking push. Open extra physical slots and point a February page to them.
- Wear Red Day staff photo. A team photo on February 5, 2027 is easy, consented content for your social channels.
Our primary care marketing guide covers the year-round plan, and primary care advertising covers search budgets for terms like "primary care doctor near me" at $6.72 a click.
Campaign ideas for cardiology practices
If most of your new patients arrive by referral, an awareness month won't change that overnight. Use February to strengthen those relationships and serve existing patients.
- Referral partner update. Send primary care offices a one-page note on wait times, new services and how to refer.
- A community talk. The CDC's toolkit includes Heart Valve Disease Toolkits with key messages, and NHLBI's Heart Truth program offers toolkits for community health workers. A one-hour evening talk at a library or senior center, built on those materials, introduces your cardiologists without selling.
- Women's heart health. The Heart Truth's focus on women gives a natural angle for a practice with a women's cardiovascular program.
- One FAQ article per cardiologist. Each physician answers one question patients ask every week.
Illustrative example (fictional practice): "February is American Heart Month. Join Dr. Alvarez of Summit Heart Specialists for a free talk on heart valve disease, Thursday, February 11, at the Eastside Library. No registration needed."
Note that a free educational talk is different from a free screening; see the cautions below. Our cardiology marketing guide covers referral programs and consult pages in depth.
Heart health content patients look for
Patients search for what to do, not for statistics. Build February articles around questions, each with a federal source.
| Article | Source to cite |
|---|---|
| What your blood pressure numbers mean | MedlinePlus |
| Why high blood pressure has no symptoms | MedlinePlus |
| How to check your blood pressure at home (with the CDC's printable log) | CDC toolkit |
| The ABCS of heart health | CDC toolkit (Million Hearts) |
| Heart disease in women | NHLBI, The Heart Truth |
| When to see a cardiologist | Your own referral criteria, reviewed by your physicians |
NHLBI's social media resources (opens in a new tab) offer "images, motion graphics, and sample posts to share during February," which saves your team from designing posts. Medfy doesn't post to social media, so your team shares them.
Medfy drafts researched articles every week from MedlinePlus and PubMed, approved by the practice before publishing, so the article table above can be scheduled in January. The Google Ads management and Meta ads + AI creatives add-ons ($199/month each) can run February campaigns with copy checked against healthcare ad policies. If you want to see where your site stands first, a free marketing audit scores six areas and lists the top five fixes.
Claims, screenings and offers: what to avoid
Three areas cause most problems in February campaigns.
Free screening events. Free blood pressure checks at a health fair are common, but the details matter. The HHS Office of Inspector General explains that the beneficiary inducement statute (opens in a new tab) imposes civil penalties for offering remuneration to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries to influence them to use a practice's services. OIG's 2016 policy statement (opens in a new tab) notes the statute's definition of remuneration includes "transfers of items or services for free." Payer contracts can add conditions. Have your compliance lead review any free screening, who it's offered to and how it's promoted; this page draws no legal conclusion.
Unsupported or invented statistics. The FTC's Health Products Compliance Guidance (opens in a new tab) requires "competent and reliable scientific evidence" for health claims, including implied ones. Quote the CDC exactly, with the basis it gives, and don't round "nearly half" into "most."
Fear-based creative. Google's inappropriate content policy (opens in a new tab) bars "promotions that are likely to shock or scare." An ad built around a heart attack scene risks rejection and doesn't book appointments. Show your clinic, your team and the booking button.
This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm how it applies to your practice with a qualified advisor.
Measuring the campaign
Compare February with January and with last February.
- Physicals and blood pressure follow-ups booked (primary care) or new consults and referrals received (cardiology).
- Calls, forms and booking clicks from February pages.
- Event attendance and how many attendees later booked, counted in aggregate.
- Search impressions for "primary care doctor" and "cardiologist" terms in Search Console.
Medfy's first-party analytics count calls, forms, booking clicks and directions, and its AI CMO dashboard shows leads by source with a weekly brief by email. After February, the next physician-focused date is March 30, National Doctors' Day, and June's Men's Health Month reuses much of your blood pressure content. The full year is on the health awareness calendar.
Frequently asked questions
When is American Heart Month?
Every February. Federal law, 36 U.S.C. 101, asks the President to proclaim February as American Heart Month each year. The CDC publishes a communications toolkit for it, and NHLBI's The Heart Truth program promotes heart health throughout the month. NHLBI's National Wear Red Day falls on the first Friday in February, which is February 5 in 2027. Confirm each sponsor's materials in January.
How can a cardiology practice use American Heart Month?
Use it to educate the people who refer to you and the patients already in your care. Send primary care partners a short update on your access and services, run a community talk on blood pressure or heart valve disease using CDC and NHLBI materials, and publish one article answering a question your cardiologists hear every week. Point every piece to a clear consult booking path.
What heart health topics should a practice post about?
Stick to sourced basics patients act on: what blood pressure numbers mean, why high blood pressure usually has no symptoms, how to take readings at home with the CDC's printable log, and what the CDC's ABCS of heart health stand for. NHLBI offers ready-made sample posts and graphics for February. Cite the CDC, NHLBI or MedlinePlus, and never invent risk statistics.
Can a practice offer free blood pressure checks?
Many practices and community groups do, but check the details first. Federal rules restrict offering free items or services to Medicare and Medicaid patients that could influence their choice of provider, and payer contracts may add conditions. State every term of the offer plainly. Ask your compliance lead to review the event, who it's offered to and how you'll promote it before announcing it.